In this study, I draw on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and cultural reproduction. The theory describes cultural capital as a resource of the family that is transmitted from parents to child and which enables the child to succeed in education because cultural capital is recognized and rewarded by teachers. As a result, families that possess cultural capital have an advantage that helps them reproduce their privileged position in society (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990). Several empirical studies have found the cultural capital of the students to play a crucial role for academic achievement (Andersen & Jæger, 2015; Jæger, 2011; Sullivan, 2001) (see Jæger & Breen, 2016; Sullivan, 2002 for a review of the literature). E.g. Jæger (2009) finds a positive relationship between cultural capital and educational attainment over and above the effect of SES. Even though the relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement seems to be well established, the underlying mechanisms that produce this relationship are still to be understood. Thus, more research is needed to describe what is going on inside the classroom on the micro level and by this way explaining the mechanism behind the relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement.

By drawing on the concept of feedback, I shed some light on the underlying mechanism behind the relationship between cultural capital and academic achievement. There has been a growing interest in the concept of feedback in educational research, and many studies have found feedback to be one of the most important factors that affect student learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Shute, 2008). But only very few of these studies examine between-student differences in the effect of feedback, namely, the role of student background as a mediator in the relationship between feedback and student outcome (see Black & Wiliam, 1998; Hattie & Gan, 2011; OECD, 2008). Inspired by Bourdieu and Passeron’s analyses of higher education in France, I examine whether  the effectiveness of pedagogical communication is mediated by the cultural capital of the student (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990). However, I do it in lower secondary education. More specifically, I explore the perception of feedback from a student perspective to see if 1) there is between-student difference in perception of feedback, and 2) if this difference can be explained by the cultural capital of the student. I build on the assumption that implicit pedagogical communication that presupposes prior knowledge as well as cultural norms and values is ineffective for students who lack these prerequisites (Bernstein, 1975; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990; Frykman, 1998).

The findings of this study might thus cast some light on the mechanisms that potentially lead students with higher amounts of cultural capital to benefit more from teaching relative to the students with a low level of cultural capital.

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